Flying
by Becky and Amanda
Summary: Prequel to "Ancient History." "Flying is the greatest feeling in the world..." But what happens when you fall?


  


**Flying**  
by Becky

  


Flying was the greatest feeling in the world. The wind whistling in your ears, stinging your face, and blowing your hair in every direction possible. Being so high above the city, the people looked like ants. Sure that was a cliché, but it was also true. 

He couldn't imagine a life without it anymore. 

Robin flew through the air with ease, enjoying every moment of it. It was almost a shame that he had to land when he spotted two men in ski masks and dark clothing hunched over the doorway of a small jewelry shop. Almost. This part could be fun, too. 

His boots connected with the first bad guy's head with a satisfying _thwap_ and a second later he had somersaulted away from them and was in his fighting stance. The second guy was still looking at Robin in surprise and the first groaning and clutching his head. The second guy was the first to recover. 

"Isn't it past your bedtime, birdboy?" he said with a smirk. 

The first one had managed to stumble to his feet, his hands now curled into fists. "Yeah, looks like someone needs a tuck-in." 

Robin rolled his eyes, even though they couldn't see the gesture under his mask. "Real original. Do you know how many times I've heard that one?" 

The smirks didn't slip from their faces as they began to advance on him. "Awww, is the baby cranky because he hasn't had his bottle?" Bad guy number two thought this was hysterically funny. 

Robin frowned. "If you can't be creative, you shouldn't even try." Without waiting for a response, he quickly pulled out a bolo, spun it around a few times for the momentum, and let it fly. His aim was true; bad guy number one went down with a loud "Ungh!" Bad guy number two wasn't in such a good mood anymore. 

"Somebody needs to teach you a lesson, _boy_," he snarled. Robin let the crook come to him, waiting until the man's outstretched hands had almost reached him. He leapt upwards, springboarding off the man's head, causing the man to stumble and almost trip. Behind him now, Robin jumped again, this time spinning as he leapt to deliver a kick to the bad guy's head. Hey, if it worked the first time, why not a second? 

The man went down hard and out cold. That one taken care of, he turned back to the other one, who was struggling with the bola wrapped around his knees. 

"Ah, ah, ah!" he chastised. "Gotta make sure I tuck you boys in _real_ tight." He snapped the bat-shaped handcuffs around the first one's wrists and retied the bolo even tighter. He did the same with the downed man, grunting a little as he lifted the man's bulk out of the street and back onto the sidewalk. 

Distantly sirens could be heard and he knew the police would take care of these two idiots. As he shot a jumpline to swing away, he called back, "Sleep tight! And don't let the bed bugs bite!" 

Not more than thirty seconds later a dark blur whizzing by caught his attention. He swung after the caped figure on the Batcyle, who was moving far faster than usual. Something was definitely up. 

"Batgirl!" 

She turned to look at him and seeing who he was, she slowed down long enough for him to hop on the back of the bike. "Batgirl, what's up?" he shouted into her ear to be heard over both the bike and the wind. 

"I'm not sure! I overheard Batman telling Alfred that he was going to the Gotham Hills Arena to fight Bane!" She gunned the motor, sending them flying through the streets even faster. "I tried to catch up with him, but he left before I was ready!" 

"Bane? What does the Ahnold Wannabe want now?" 

"I don't know! Maybe we'll find out when we get there!" 

"Do you think we should call Nightwing for back up?" 

Red hair flew directly into his face as she shook her head. "I already tried! He's not answering any of my pages!" 

That was odd. But not completely unusual. Besides, Alfred knew where they were going, so if Dick called, he would be able to get directions. "How much of a head start does he have?" 

"About five minutes!" 

Five minutes could mean all the difference in the world. "Then let's hurry up!" 

Her response was to push the bike even harder. 

* * * * * * 

  
The very last few rays of sunlight were dying as Robin and Batgirl arrived at the scene. The sky was its usual blood red color, allowing just enough light for them to see Bane and Batman trading punches just outside the massive Gotham Hills Arena. As they swiftly approached on the Batcyle, they watched Bane back Batman into a corner, taunting him with words they couldn't quite hear. Bane lunged at Batman, who, at the very last possible second ducked away, letting Bane's fists crash into the walls. A thick cloud of dust and debris surrounded the two fighters after Bane's punch had pummeled the wall where Batman had been. 

Before Batgirl could bring the bike to a complete stop, Robin had a bolo out and whipped it towards Bane. He turned to look at the two of them in surprise as the chords barely managed to wind around his chest. The bolo was snapped into pieces like it was no more than dental floss as a cruel smile stretched across his face. A cursory glance passed over both of them before Bane made his choice and started towards Batgirl. He'd taken no more than two steps when a batarang rebounded off his shoulder, forcing his attention back to Robin. 

The momentary distraction gave Batman the chance to jump him from behind and he wrapped his arms as tightly as he could around Bane's neck. The action did little to cut off Bane's air supply, but it was sufficient to get his attention. Bane swung around, trying to shake Batman off and when that didn't work, he reached back to physically pry the unwanted weight off his back. Bane threw Batman towards the side of the massive Arena building, where he landed with a painful grunt. 

For a moment Bane was visibly torn between which of the three caped crusaders to attack next, but when Batgirl threw another batarang at him, she made the decision for him. He moved with surprising speed and lifted her up into the air, tossing her in the same direction as Batman. She barely had time to shriek before slamming into the wall and sliding down to the ground. 

Robin saw Batman getting back up, but Bane was still closer to him. He readied another bolo, warily giving ground as Bane stalked towards him. //Steroid boy is having a really good night tonight,// he thought. 

"Bane!" Batman screamed, finally pulling himself to his feet. Robin used the chance to slide out a batarang with a razor-sharp edge along one side. The sooner he could cut those cables feeding Bane the Venom, the less like a soccer ball they would all feel like the next day. He jumped as hard and fast as he could, eyes zeroed in on those tubes, batarang ready. 

He never saw Bane turn to see him at the last second or Bane's hand shoot up to catch him by the neck. He only felt it for a very, very long second. Held there, immobilized, Bane's huge fist wrapped around his throat, easily capable of snapping it like the proverbial twig. In that second he only had time to look at Batman, see the dawning horror there. 

Then everything went black and he was flying again. It really was the best feeling in the world to fly. 

* * * * * * 

All it took was two seconds. Two seconds that lasted an eternity and were over in a flash all at the same time. He'd gotten up from the cold ground, saw Robin leap at Bane, and just somehow _knew_ it wasn't right. Something was wrong. He'd shouted Bane's name, trying to get him to focus back on him, to just not _look_ at what Robin was doing. 

But he failed. Bane had seen Robin's movement and snatched him out of the air like he was no more than a rag doll. //He was just a child....// Bane held him there and deliberately smiled at Batman. Held him there for an instant just to torture him, prolong the moment, gloat in his triumph. Then, with a light, careless air, he closed his fist and snapped Robin's neck. 

Bane didn't even look at Robin as he let the young boy drop to the ground with a sickening thud, he only let out a low chuckle. "Children should not be in this dangerous game. This is what could happen to them; you should have known better, Batman. His demise is your fault." 

Behind Batman, Batgirl was stirring as well. He could hear her sob at Bane's words, faintly crying Tim's name. Bane continued to laugh, only spurred on by her pain. 

Without any sort of warning, everything snapped into a crystal clear focus, no sound or movement escaping his notice. He looked at Bane, taking note of every little detail, of every little weakness. Bane may have had more physical strength, but Batman was faster and smarter. He knew exactly where to hit Bane where it would hurt him, knew exactly how to inflict the most pain possible. 

Knew exactly how to kill him. 

Bane noticed the change in his demeanor, his laughter becoming more forced. Soon it faded all together, and Bane was the first to step back. This was not going to end mercifully, Bane did not deserve that much. He would _more_ than regret coming here tonight. 

Batman slowly started to circle around Bane, who moved with him. Little by little, Batman closed the gap between them, and when in range, jumped into the air to land a double fisted strike on one of the pressure points near the neck. Bane tried to duck out of the way or swat him out of the air like an insect, but Batman was gone before he could reach. Bane screamed as pain spread through the right side of his body. Batman knew it would feel like half of him was on fire; it would be several days before he would be able to use it in any way. 

While Bane was too incapacitated to do anything, he calmly removed the tubes from Bane's neck, ripping them out with such force that the pack containing the unused Venom came off as well. He threw it to the side in disgust. Before Bane could collapse onto the ground, Batman moved around to lift him up by the front of his shirt. 

No words were needed then; Bane understood anything he could have possibly said. His eyes were full of fear and pain, but Batman gained no pleasure from it. He drew back his fist, holding it there for a moment, almost mirroring Bane's earlier actions. Then he let it crash into Bane's face, knocking him into unconsciousness. 

He dropped the body as though it were a diseased-infested rat. If killing Bane would have made sure that the children of the world were safe from monsters, he would have done it without a single moment of hesitation. 

But Bane wasn't the monster children had to fear. Bane _had_ been right about one thing--what had happened was _his_ fault. It was his fault Tim had been here, had ever been allowed to put on the Robin costume and fight criminals who were beyond simply 'dangerous'. 

By the time he'd finished with Bane and made his way back over to Robin, Batgirl was there as well. She'd pulled him into her arms, cradling him while rocking back and forth. Tears fell down her face unchecked, splashing onto Robin's face and even his costume. She didn't look up when he approached and crouched down next to them. 

It was a long time before either of them could speak. "Bane.... Is he.... Is he dead?" Batgirl eventually asked. 

"....No." 

She tucked Robin's head more tightly into her shoulder, gripping him even more fiercely. "That's not fair," she mumbled, her sobbing renewed. "He should be dead. Not... not...." She hiccuped loudly in between sobs. "It's not fair!" 

Batman eased the body out of her arms--though, she was reluctant to let go, her hands trailing down his arms as he was pulled away from her. No, nothing was fair about this at all. 

* * * * * *

**END**


End file.
